Former deputy director of LLC Status Mikhail Krishyan, who was extradited from Estonia to Russia, partially acknowledged his guilt in the case of the contract killing of the owner of the shopping center Pulkovo-3, Mikhail Karachev, as well as businessman Alexei Volnukhin. As told in the city court of St. Petersburg, where the case is being considered, Krishyan recognizes his involvement in the crime but says that the organizer of the murder is another person.

“He does not deny his involvement in the murder case but says the organizer is another person. Krishyan also did not admit guilt on the charges about the storage of weapons,” said the representative of the court cited by TASS.

As the CrimeRussia previously wrote, Krishyan is charged with organizing the murder of the owner of the retail and entertainment complex Pulkovo-3, Karachev, which took place in 2000. For this, ex-deputy director of LLC Status engaged Viktor Shishkin and Denis Mikhailov in the criminal group; the latter also drew Vadim Sorokin and Ruslan Aksyanov to the organization of the murder.

In April of the same year, Shishkin informed Mikhailov about the victim’s residence and his car; a month later, on the Blagodatnaya Street in the Moscow District of St. Petersburg, Sorokin, together with Aksyonov, attacked Karachev and brutally beat him. The victim was hospitalized and died in the hospital.

Later, according to investigators, Krishyan again engaged Mikhailov, but this time for the murder of entrepreneur Volnukhin. At the end of October, the latter was shots five times from a homemade pistol on the 2nd Zhernovskaya Street.

After these murders, during a search in Krishyan’s house, operatives found firearms and ammunition. Despite the weapons found, the court refused to take Krishyan into custody and released him on bail of 2 million rubles ($ 30000). Krishyan disappeared, was put on Interpol’s wanted list and in August 2013 was detained in Estonia. Three years ago, Estonia extradited him to Russia.